[Sandy]

We, (USA) can now build an automotive assembly plant in Japan, BUT we cannot own the land it sits upon, because THAT land belongs to Japan!

80 Percent of th employees in that plant, must be Japanese citizens.

All high level executives must be Japanese citizens

All American branded vehicles must be sold in dealerships that also sell & promenitly display Japanese vehicles.

In order to purchase an American car, the buyer MUST allready own a parking space. Parking Spaces are ONLY sold to owners of Japanese cars, so the American car buyer had to have first owned a Japanese branded car. Only then can he/she purchase a parking space, and then their next car can be American.

Any given years output of an American car cannot exceed the number of units manufactured of the POOREST selling brand of Japanese car.
Shoe on other foot, here, would be that no Japanese car could outsell the Chrysler Division or the Cadillac Division (They are close & flip flop annually).

If the off-shore owned plant (say by GM - for an example) is idle for more than 12 months, with no production, that plant becomes the property of Japan.

Why doesn't OUR USA government offer the same "Fair Trade" ?

 

[Kev]

Mama never said life would be fair, I think our politicians took this way too seriously!

 

[Ranger]

I have never understood why we just don't impose the same rules on them. It seems so simple.

 

[90Brougham350]

The clout that Toyota and Honda have in Washington is enormous. Try to impose any restrictions or regulations like this, and the Japanese manufacturers will scream bloody hell, and raise a PR storm aimed at the general public of America. The message: We Japanese companies employ American workers in our American plants. We love you America! If you impose restrictions on us, you're hurting your fellow American, and you won't be able to mindlessly buy the latest Toyotappliance you're told to purchase.

Brian

 

[BigJon]

makes no since sometimes.. and people wonder why everyone losing there jobs..

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

This is bogus. I wish I had something smarter to say to that, but I don't, it's just bogus.

 

[pabstcadillac]

Buick owns China for what that's worth. I'd rather have a billion plus people than an archipelago with a population of 125 million +/- & limited resources. Having said that it's not a matter of being fair, it's a matter of what is agreed upon. Like I always say at work, "The day my name is on the building, I'll make the decisions. If I don't like it, I can choose to move on. That is my choice." :2cents: :alchi:

 

[Sandy]

Yes, but it was called the FAIR TRADE policy, years ago!

 

[Sinister Angel]

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?id=974

 

[Kev]

Yes, but it was called the FAIR TRADE policy, years ago!

This is true Sandy, but was it ever fair even then? We used to hear slogans, "Buy American" as a union Sheet Metal Worker I heard this all the time. Unfortunately that is harder to do. I'm not sure if there is any complex item that is 100% American made any more. Then if it was, would it be worth the cost to buy it? Would it be the best as it once was?

It breaks my heart to say these things. ... .... :helpless:

 

[pabstcadillac]

We used to hear slogans, "Buy American" as a union Sheet Metal Worker I heard this all the time. Unfortunately that is harder to do.

A big part of the problem is that a lot of people are not willing to pay for products produced/manufactured here in the states. Our cost of overhead is generally considerably higher & the consumer doesn't want to pay for it. Businesses still need to make a profit to keep the lights on. Solution, manufacture/develop where it is less expensive. You get the product you want at the price you want & the business makes money. I deal with this EVERYDAY as do many others. A great example of this is the towel thread that was started by Spyder. LINK They cost him $9.00/ea., how many of us are really willing to pay this when I can go to J.C. Penny, Target, Sears, etc & buy them for $4-7? :2cents: :alchi:

 

[Sandy]

The answer is to put a tax on the imports to bring their price up to a level to ours.

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

The answer is to put a tax on the imports to bring their price up to a level to ours.

Exactly, but whenever we mention the thought of this, the japanese companies get offended/angry and it never passes.

 

[Stoneage_Caddy]

it becuse we felt sorry for them after we dropped the big one on them twice in ww2 ....

we may have won the battles in ww2 , but the germans and japanese won the war in the end .....

were looseing our war in the auto indisutry much the same way we loose our wars nowadays , we ***** foot around and try to be the beatter man while the enimy is allowed to be as ruthless and unsportsmanlike as they wish ....

we should treat the import cars like they treat us on our own turf , and we should fight a war like a damn war ....shoot at us from a mosque and we will level it ....

america isnt asleep ......its passed out from the binge drinking party just prior to 1960 ....they still havent emeriged from the coma ....prolly never will

 

[JimHare]

The answer is to put a tax on the imports to bring their price up to a level to ours.

Interestingly enough, it was a tax on imports that started the whole thing that we celebrate today....

Raising tariffs never works.

Important Economic Principle Coming Up:

EVERY external cost (e.g., tariffs, taxes, duties, etc etc etc) involved in the manufacturing, distribution, and selling of a product to the consumer is factored into the final price of that product by the producer.

In other words, if we raise the tarriffs on imported goods, there will be only a minor drop in units sold, and instead, even MORE American dollars will flow to overseas countries, because the price for a Toyota or Honda or Sony or Canon or Panasonic will rise to absorb the tarriff.

Obviously, if Japanese cars are already selling at a premium over US cars, then PRICE is not an object that the consumer considers paramount. Must be something else.

The problem is not our relatively free market - it's Japan's (and other countries) rather onerous trade restrictions that they put in place to protect local labor and manufacturing.

Washington needs to exert political pressure (HAH!) on our trading partners to loosen their markets to allow American goods to compete fairly.

Perhaps we could start by pulling our military out of those countries that don't foot the bill for their own defense. 40% reduction in our defense spending, comparable rise in the other countries budgets. Insteading of being able to fund research and manufacturing and technology, they'll have to buy tanks and destroyers and F16s just like the rest of us....